Identifying indicators of success for violence prevention programs to inform policy and decision-making

The Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center (PCVPC) is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary effort to create safer Philadelphia communities, using a community-based participatory research model, specifically relating to youth violence. Four focus groups representing service providers, African-American residents, caregivers, and community leaders were conducted to explore: 1) an understanding of the current services in which local youth and community members spend time; 2) the experiences with violence prevention program(s) within the context of the community; 3) identifying quantitative measures of program success that will address information needs of community-based organizations and provide rigorous assessment of program effect required for policy and decision-making. Results were analyzed, using content analysis, and reported back to the individual focus groups and summarized across groups to identify common and differing themes. We identified four aspects of the community experience: a) neighborhood assets such a strong community identity and a large number of community and faith-based groups throughout the study area; b) stressors include drug use and proliferation, diminished physical environment (trash, poor sidewalks and insufficient lighting), and changes in the social environment such as “outsiders” moving into the area; c) experience with violence prevention programs; and d) indicators of success such as increase opportunities for young people to participate in extracurricular programs. The themes discovered through this process will be used to identify indicators of successful violence prevention programs that will be implemented in future years of the PCVPC's efforts and to inform policy decisions by funders and state and local government officials.